Crowder set up his getting punched.

In a Dec. 12 Media Research Center press release, Brent Bozell complains that the TV networks "deliberately ignored widely available footage of Fox News Contributor Steven Crowder being punched in the face by a union member." Bozell further huffs:

The pro-union broadcast networks are deliberately censoring footage of thuggish union violence directed at conservatives. If a Tea Partier had physically assaulted a liberal journalist or ripped down a structure occupied by a liberal organization all on video, the footage would be broadcast on an endless loop. ABC, CBS, and NBC have a responsibility to the American people to expose what’s really happening in Michigan. Their double standard is absolutely outrageous.

Both Steven Crowder and Americans for Prosperity should press charges on the parties responsible for these assaults, and they should be prosecuted. ABC, CBS, and NBC may be willing to turn a blind eye to union violence, but the unions are not above the law.

But it appears that "widely available footage" was selectively edited to remove Crowder's apparent provocation of the union member.

The New York Times reports that a version of the video released to Fox News' Sean Hannity shows " the man who punched Mr. Crowder being knocked to the ground seconds before and then getting up and taking a swing at the comedian."The Times adds:

There is one more anomaly in Mr. Crowder’s edit of the footage shot by his associates. The still frame he used for the clip’s title image on YouTube, which offers a much clearer image of the man punching him, was obviously shot by a second camera, from an entirely different angle than the rest of the footage he presented of the man hitting him. If Mr. Crowder wants to clear up the mystery of exactly what happened just before he was punched, it might make sense for him to release any footage of the incident shot from that second angle.

Additionally, there are reports that Crowder was deliberately trying to provoke a confrontation and "wasn't going to go home until he got punched."

Will Bozell and the MRC demand that Crowder clear up any confusion and tell the full truth, or will they continue to promote a selectively edited video that is not an accurate representation of what happened?

2. Well, the WWF wrestlers are professional performers.

3. To be honest, Crowder should be thankful he escaped Michigan with his balls still attached.

I had to google who he was. If you were to make a list of the 10 most annoying people on Planet Earth, Steven Crowder would be #'s 1-5, Rush Limbaugh would be 6, Glenn Beck would be 7, and Steven Crowder would be 8-10 again.

His entry on Wikipedia has been mysteriously scrubbed with a one sentence entry and numerous mistakes.

5. Crowder deliberately provoked the protesters.

But the bottom line is physical assault can never be condoned as a reaction to anything simply verbal from someone else.

As much as I abhor cops pepper spraying or punching protesters yelling in their face, I have to abhor union protesters (whom I support and agree with) punching idiot pseudo-journalists. Crowder ended up getting the prize he was looking for, and the union folks did themselves a PR disservice.

6. Except it wasn't a reaction to verbal only taunts

In the unedited footage it shows the older guy got up off the ground. Why was he on the ground? Even the unedited footage does not show why... but it's almost certain that Crowder or someone he was with pushed or tripped him before getting punched.